Gyeonggi Province Governor Dongyeon Kim stated, "There are 4.22 million volunteers in Gyeonggi Province, making it a place where people truly live together," and announced plans to expand the scale of this year's public contest projects for volunteer organizations in the province.
Governor Kim made these remarks at the '2025 Gyeonggi Province Volunteer Conference' hosted by the Gyeonggi Volunteer Center and held at SINTEX in Hwaseong on the 17th.
Governor Kim said, "Gyeonggi Province has 4.22 million volunteers, which is 30% of the total population," and added, "On behalf of all 14.2 million residents of Gyeonggi Province, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to these volunteers."
He continued, "When a large wildfire broke out in the Yeongnam region last March, my wife and I visited Andong to participate in volunteer activities. Since then, I have gone to volunteer once or twice more and have been involved in helping others. It seems that volunteering is addictive in that once you start, you keep doing it."
He went on to say, "Volunteers from Gyeonggi Province have rushed to help wherever help was needed, not only within Gyeonggi Province but also elsewhere," and promised, "Gyeonggi Province will spare no effort in expanding various projects and providing all possible support for our volunteers. This year, we will expand the number of public contest projects for volunteer organizations from 340 to 390, an increase of 15%."
Gyeonggi Province Governor Dongyeon Kim is taking a commemorative photo after presenting a certificate of appreciation to an outstanding volunteer at the '2025 Gyeonggi Province Volunteer Conference' held at SINTEX in Hwaseong City on the 17th. Photo by Gyeonggi Province
He also said, "I hope that through these efforts, we can all work together to make Gyeonggi Province a warmer and more humane place," and urged, "Let us all sincerely dedicate ourselves to making Gyeonggi Province a place where people truly live together."
On this day, Governor Kim personally introduced outstanding volunteers, including Kim Yoonju, who was newly selected as a 'Dojabongi' after achieving a cumulative 20,000 hours of volunteer service, and 93-year-old Jung Hwa-il, the oldest recipient, who was named an 'Eunjabongi' after reaching 10,000 hours of service.
Kim Yoonju has become a role model by volunteering for 20 years to provide academic guidance to children from low-income families at small libraries and community child centers. Jung Hwa-il, a veteran of the Korean War, has been volunteering in Suwon City by providing meals to vulnerable groups and supporting local welfare centers.
This event was organized to encourage and honor the dedication and hard work of volunteers. It was planned as a festival to bring together more volunteers by holding it ahead of the official Volunteer Day (December 5).
Meanwhile, Gyeonggi Province annually recognizes outstanding volunteers, such as 'Dojabongi,' 'Geumjabongi,' 'Eunjabongi,' and 'Dongjabongi,' who have volunteered for more than 100 hours in the previous year or accumulated over 5,000 hours in total. This year, a total of 32,262 people were selected. Outstanding volunteers receive various benefits, including the issuance of a certificate of excellence, discounts at affiliated stores, opportunities for overseas training, and the presentation of a certificate of appreciation.
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